EQG Google Groups

This message is being sent to you via EQG Google Groups, and I wanted to take this opportunity to provide the following information about the process the guild is using to communicate with you.

EQG has been using Google Groups (EQG GG) since October 2011. Sandra Sarner has been the Administrator, sending invitations to new members. Initially she also vetted each email before it was released, but members have been great about using EQG GG responsibly.

We wanted to share the following with everyone, to remove any mystery and perhaps answer some questions that haven’t been asked!

What is Google Groups?

Google Groups is a communication channel that EQG uses to distribute to members, via email, The Scrap Bag newsletter and other guild and quilting event related news items.

Google Groups is a group of email addresses that are kept confidential and hidden from all recipients.

When you receive an email from EQG GG, all members receive it at the same time.

Every person in EQG GG has the ability to send a message by sending a regular email message to eqgmembers@googlegroups.com . You may wish to add this to your Contacts/Address Book.

Any email address updates, or additions/deletions, are handled centrally by the EQG GG Administrator, so the list is easily kept updated for all to use.

The EQG GG allows all members to efficiently use the process to send messages related to their volunteer capacity in the Guild. No requirement to send to another person for distribution, with possible delays.

When can EQG Google Groups be used?

Your newsletter Editor, Heather Patterson, has been saving the Guild hundreds of dollars by eliminating the need for costly photocopies, labelled envelopes and postage costs. And saving time too! Members now receive The Scrap Bag promptly at the click of one button, since it has been sent via EQG GG.

In recent months, important details regarding Quilt Fever 2018 were quickly and easily sent via EQG GG by the various volunteers.

If there is a quilting event or quilting news items that may be of interest to EQG members, then any member can send the details via EQG GG.

Details and information regarding a members meeting, and reminders of actions or things to bring, are easily communicated via EQG GG.

When should EQG Google Groups NOT be used?

We are very mindful that none of us want an overload of email, so some caution is helpful when considering sending a message via EQG GG.

If the information may be of interest to a small select group of members, consider sending a personal email to only that group.

If the email may be of interest, but is not quilt related, consider sending a personal email.

If you receive a message via EQG GG, and want to respond, RESIST HITTING REPLY ALL. Respond only to those who need your response.

Google Groups should not be used for personal gain, except in the case of members who have paid advertising of their quilt related business in The Scrap Bag. If they wish, they may send up to one message a month via EQG GG so long as caution is used and the message is relevant for the majority of members.

If I am not sure if I am in EQG GG, or if my friend is, what should I do?
What if my email address has changed?

Ask around to see if your friends received this message, and if not, they can contact Sandra Sarner with a request to be added. (Find her at a meeting, or if you’re a EQG GG member, reach her through that.)

As EQG GG Administrator, Sandra will then send out an email invitation to join EQG GG. Be aware that the email invitation will expire after a few days, so please click on the blue box which says ACCEPT THIS INVITATION as soon as you see it. You will then immediately be added to EQG GG and start receiving any messages sent by other members.

If you have a new email address, contact the EQG GG Administrator with details of the old email address to be deleted, and your new email. An invitation will be sent to the new email address.

Other questions?

We hope some of the mystery around EQG GG has been explained and that it will continue to be a time-efficient and cost-effective way of communicating with our members.

EQG GG is just one way we are trying to make the work of our volunteer members a little easier.

If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to send a message but still not sure how it works, please contact me. I want to hear your voice!